Dark Horse Releases "Deluxe" Berserk Edition

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Well at least it's not in a big box like in the beginning when they started to translate the sound effect.. Remember the eclipse? I spent most of my time being distracted by these then paying attention to the story.. (ok I exagerate a bit but still.) :serpico: But yeh, frigging dark horse translation..
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Well at least it's not in a big box like in the beginning when they started to translate the sound effect..

Pretty sure the image Sareth posted is a mistake, not an intentional design choice. They’ve already done this a few times in the deluxe editions.
 
I only buy individual volumes of Manga, but this is wonderful news. I know plenty of people would love to have a cheaper way to own the Berserk series.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I know plenty of people would love to have a cheaper way to own the Berserk series.
It’s not actually cheaper though. Retail price is $49.99 for each deluxe edition. Buying the standard editions individually would be $45 ($14.99 x3).

One could certainly deal hunt on amazon and perhaps get the deluxe editions for as low as $30, but you could do the same for standard, too.

The question is really: how much do you value fake leather?
 

BiQ_

" ... "
This might be premature but, assuming they keep releasing these, would it make more sense to keep the 3-in-1 volume thing or keep the page counts more stable across these deluxe editions?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
This might be premature but, assuming they keep releasing these, would it make more sense to keep the 3-in-1 volume thing or keep the page counts more stable across these deluxe editions?

Not sure I understand the quandary. The page # per volume only negligibly changes throughout the series.
 
So now that six volumes are out, is the general consensus on these editions that they are good (enough) and all are worth a buy or just wait potentially for a better product however long down the line?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I continue to think they’re not really worth it for someone like me, who over the years has accumulated several versions of the series (Japanese, US, and digital). But for English readers just starting to collect, I think it’s a fine format.

There's also an added benefit for new buyers that might seem small, but I think it's significant: You can't buy it all at once. You're forced to spread out the cost of adopting the complete series. Too often, I see new fans who balk at the prospect of "dropping $500 on the series at once." Well, no one's asking you to buy the whole thing TODAY. The deluxe edition is an appealing way for these fans to acquire the series piecemeal, one $30-40 purchase every 4 months.

Keep in mind, these editions aren’t "ultimate" editions of Berserk. The leather is a bit fake feeling, and Dark Horse has screwed up translations and a few speech bubbles even with these recent volumes, but the prospect of the bigger format and the hardcover edition might be enough to overcome those shortcomings, depending on what you’re looking for.
 
I continue to think they’re not really worth it for someone like me, who over the years has accumulated several versions of the series (Japanese, US, and digital). But for English readers just starting to collect, I think it’s a fine format.

There's also an added benefit for new buyers that might seem small, but I think it's significant: You can't buy it all at once. You're forced to spread out the cost of adopting the complete series. Too often, I see new fans who balk at the prospect of "dropping $500 on the series at once." Well, no one's asking you to buy the whole thing TODAY. The deluxe edition is an appealing way for these fans to acquire the series piecemeal.

Keep in mind, these editions aren’t "ultimate" editions of Berserk. The leather is a bit fake feeling, and Dark Horse has screwed up translations and a few speech bubbles even with these recent volumes, but the prospect of the bigger format and the hardcover edition might be enough to overcome those shortcomings, depending on what you’re looking for.
Exactly the kind of reply I wanted, thanks man.

P.S. This has nothing to do with what I asked but I've heard quite a few people talking about Dark Horse mistranslations but not anything further then that, is there a post on the website or on the internet that shows examples of mistranslations and the problems associated with it?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Exactly the kind of reply I wanted, thanks man.

P.S. This has nothing to do with what I asked but I've heard quite a few people talking about Dark Horse mistranslations but not anything further then that, is there a post on the website or on the internet that shows examples of mistranslations and the problems associated with it?
Tough to consolidate and explain them all over the years, but the translation and printing problems are catalogued throughout older threads like these.

Off the top of my head, I recall that the "Boss" pirate uses stereotypical pirate phrases like, "Me hearties" and "Yo ho ho" whereas in Japanese, he speaks like a military instructor talking down to young recruits. Not at all like a stereotypical pirate.

They called the Sovereign of the Flower Storm "King Hanafubuku" until recently when they bothered to translate the full title.

In the early days there were a few editorializations, like when they made Guts say "Groovy" to getting his cannon arm, a reference to Evil Dead.

There are probably a handful of issues per volume.

E8DZNS9.jpg


bSe01TN.jpg



gambino-print.jpg


Often speech bubbles and portions of pages get cut off:

puck-print.jpg


This placeholder copy+paste problem is in the first deluxe edition:

9sbimuX.jpg
 
Nice, a lot of these actually shock me at how obvious these errors are but either somehow were missed or weren't bothered to correct, just tarnishes Berserk and the experience a first time reader could have.

Off the top of my head, I recall that the "Boss" pirate uses stereotypical pirate phrases like, "Me hearties" and "Yo ho ho" whereas in Japanese, he speaks like a military instructor talking down to young recruits. Not at all like a stereotypical pirate.
This is really surprising, the pirates were the first moment in Berserk i genuinely thought were a bit too "cartoony" for how different and unique in tone the rest of the series were so to hear how the head pirate was more strict in commanding his crew definitely makes me want to know how different they are in character in the original text.
They called the Sovereign of the Flower Storm "King Hanafubuku" until recently when they bothered to translate the full title.
I still don't really understand this, in the original text did Schrieke on the beach refer to the lord of the elves as "King Hanafubuku" or "Flower Storm Monarch"? Because if it's the latter, then why did Dark Horse use the former to describe the lord? Was it just a placeholder name or they did just not bother using the full title?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
There are many things, big and small, that Dark Horse's translation has gotten wrong over the years. Listing them all would take ages. They've been mentioned here and there over the years, but we don't plan to compile them into a comprehensive resource or anything. But for what it's worth, I completely agree that a mediocre translation damages the experience of reading Berserk.

This is really surprising, the pirates were the first moment in Berserk i genuinely thought were a bit too "cartoony" for how different and unique in tone the rest of the series were so to hear how the head pirate was more strict in commanding his crew definitely makes me want to know how different they are in character in the original text.

Feel free to check our own translations, they're faithful.

I still don't really understand this, in the original text did Schrieke on the beach refer to the lord of the elves as "King Hanafubuku" or "Flower Storm Monarch"? Because if it's the latter, then why did Dark Horse use the former to describe the lord? Was it just a placeholder name or they did just not bother using the full title?

花吹雪く王 (pronounced "Hanabufuku Ou") is a phrase that means "King of the Flower Storm" in Japanese. This translation, which @puella first came up with, is as close to the original meaning as you can get in English. Miura combined the kanji for "snow storm" with the one for "flower" to create that meaning. The kanji "王" means "king, ruler, sovereign". It's usually applied to men, but the Japanese language is such that it's not egregious to use it for a woman. My guess is that Miura chose that name specifically to mislead the reader about what the sovereign in question would be like.

Anyway, that phrase was always the same one. What happened is that forum member @Saiki, who once translated episodes, was unsatisfied with "King of the Flower Storm" as a translation. But he couldn't think of a better one, so he left it as "Hanafubuku King", a meaningless half-translated mess. Now, that was just his choice as he summarily translated the episode for the community, and it was not meant to be authoritative. And indeed, we just kept using "King of the Flower Storm" as a translation because that's the closest you can get to the original Japanese (when Danan was introduced, we changed it to the gender-neutral "sovereign").

What happened next is just my guess. Either someone at Dark Horse (they used to browse this forum) didn't bother with these details, they just checked Saiki's translation and copied it mindlessly, disregarding the fact it didn't mean anything. Or, perhaps more likely, Saiki's translation was stolen to create scanlations (a common occurrence back then), and Dark Horse then checked those scanlations and decided to go with it. A third possibility is that Dark Horse's translator independently made the bewildering choice of botching the translation, but frankly I find it hard to believe. Either way, once it was in, well they just kept going with it.
 
Feel free to check our own translations, they're faithful.
That'd be fantastic! Can you send me a link if that's possible?

花吹雪く王 (pronounced "Hanabufuku Ou") is a phrase that means "King of the Flower Storm" in Japanese. This translation, which @puella first came up with, is as close to the original meaning as you can get in English. Miura combined the kanji for "snow storm" with the one for "flower" to create that meaning. The kanji "王" means "king, ruler, sovereign". It's usually applied to men, but the Japanese language is such that it's not egregious to use it for a woman. My guess is that Miura chose that name specifically to mislead the reader about what the sovereign in question would be like.

Anyway, that phrase was always the same one. What happened is that forum member @Saiki, who once translated episodes, was unsatisfied with "King of the Flower Storm" as a translation. But he couldn't think of a better one, so he left it as "Hanafubuku King", a meaningless half-translated mess. Now, that was just his choice as he summarily translated the episode for the community, and it was not meant to be authoritative. And indeed, we just kept using "King of the Flower Storm" as a translation because that's the closest you can get to the original Japanese (when Danan was introduced, we changed it to the gender-neutral "sovereign").

What happened next is just my guess. Either someone at Dark Horse (they used to browse this forum) didn't bother with these details, they just checked Saiki's translation and copied it mindlessly, disregarding the fact it didn't mean anything. Or, perhaps more likely, Saiki's translation was stolen to create scanlations (a common occurrence back then), and Dark Horse then checked those scanlations and decided to go with it. A third possibility is that Dark Horse's translator independently made the bewildering choice of botching the translation, but frankly I find it hard to believe. Either way, once it was in, well they just kept going with it.
Interesting, I'm surprised they didn't bother double checking that considering they just used a translation for a fan community, especially since Hanabufuku was used years apart in separate volumes. You'd think they would've realized their mistake sooner.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Interesting, I'm surprised they didn't bother double checking that considering they just used a translation for a fan community, especially since Hanabufuku was used years apart in separate volumes. You'd think they would've realized their mistake sooner.

Well I mean, they're still translating "Skull Knight" as "Knight of Skeleton", aren't they? And like I said, there's no shortage of mistakes. What's remarkable about "Hanabufuku King" is that it wasn't even a translation per se, just a transliteration.
 

Jara

Eternal lurker
Hi all, long time lurker here, my first post in 20 years since registering. Thanks for everything on this site.

I lost all my tankōbon versions when I moved a few years ago - which is sad, due to the superior printing and those sweet colored foldouts. I only have the Dark Horse volumes now. It's disappointing the deluxe editions have the same problems I found in the DH volumes. Especially the destruction of Miura's amazing artwork. I can't believe Dark Horse gets away with that crap.

I'm planning to re-read everything again shortly, and was hoping the deluxe editions would fix some of the issues, but it seems not. How are people enjoying Berserk in the best way possible nowadays? Just reading the Dark Horse manga and checking against the translations here? Thanks for the help.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm planning to re-read everything again shortly, and was hoping the deluxe editions would fix some of the issues, but it seems not. How are people enjoying Berserk in the best way possible nowadays? Just reading the Dark Horse manga and checking against the translations here? Thanks for the help.
Hey waxor, welcome back!

The sound effects have been moved to the margins, so that's an improvement over where things were back in Vol 12, when they were white text boxes laying on top of the art. I think the overall experience of the Deluxe Editions is pretty good, but the first volume (covering vols 1-3) is a mess because of the text transposition issues already mentioned throughout this thread. I haven't seen many issues with the later deluxe volumes, but well... I stopped buying them, so I couldn't say for sure.

I think Dark Horse will mostly serve you fine, but there are some problems with the translation that appear from time to time, so I can't wholeheartedly endorse those versions as the definitive Berserk reading experience. For that, you have to sort of cobble it together from Japanese editions + text translations from us. That's not ideal for everyone, and I get it, but if accuracy is important to you, it's the closest to the real thing you can get. This is part of the reason that I've started taking Japanese lessons (finally).

PS: Since you're an old timer, you should check out my "20 years later" retrospective, which revisits the old days. https://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?threads/sknet-20-years-later.15889/post-259463
 

Jara

Eternal lurker
I think Dark Horse will mostly serve you fine, but there are some problems with the translation that appear from time to time, so I can't wholeheartedly endorse those versions as the definitive Berserk reading experience. For that, you have to sort of cobble it together from Japanese editions + text translations from us. That's not ideal for everyone, and I get it, but if accuracy is important to you, it's the closest to the real thing you can get. This is part of the reason that I've started taking Japanese lessons (finally).
Thanks! And good luck on learning Japanese! That's actually what got me into learning Japanese myself. I did a Japanese minor at university, oh 18 years ago now, and could somewhat muddle through the manga. It's very rewarding!

Since I lost my physical copies, are the digitized Japanese originals available to purchase anywhere? Maybe amazon.co.jp?
 
Out of curiosity, is anyone holding out and not purchasing the deluxe releases in the hopes that DH has a different type of release in the near future? I’ve kinda soured on the deluxe releases after seeing the multiple errors and, frankly, somewhat lazy release (cover, lack of color pages, etc.). Then again I guess I shouldn’t be too hopeful with DH and how they treat their other manga series.
 
I doubt there will be another type of release anytime soon considering there are 2 years worth of tomes yet to be released. I also don't get why many people hate them that much. I have most of them and notice some slight issues (like some smeared ink, bad translations, bad crop outs...) but I can honestly overlook them. As long as the quality of the paper and the ink is great (Which it is), I'm happy. I don't know what you mean by "lack of color pages", as all of the colored covers are at the back of the book. Oh, and I don't know if it's just me, but I love the cover. It's soooo cool and the fake leather looks and feels quite nice.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I guess I shouldn’t be too hopeful with DH and how they treat their other manga series.

Unfortunately I do think you shouldn't. While presented as "deluxe", this is more of a cost-saving edition for Dark Horse, and I really doubt they'll be releasing another one anytime soon.

I don't know what you mean by "lack of color pages", as all of the colored covers are at the back of the book.

The first five volumes of Berserk had color pages and in this deluxe edition those were just printed in black and white.
 
The first five volumes of Berserk had color pages and in this deluxe edition those were just printed in black and white.
Oh well that sucks. Would have been cool to have those!

My biggest complain was and still is the smudged ink. While it isn't all that common, it feels far from "deluxe" at times. Not sure if it's just the ones I have, but at times it does look pretty bad.

0lnRTRa.jpg

Not sure if the photo does it any justice. Art loses quite a bit of detail in person.
 
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Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
My biggest complain was and still is the smudged ink. While it isn't all that common, it feels far from "deluxe" at times. Not sure if it's just the ones I have, but at times it does look pretty bad.

Not sure if the photo does it any justice. Art loses quite a bit of detail in person.

Looking at the full size photo, it's clear what you mean. Very unfortunate indeed. :sad:
 
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